host: maryann from michigan. caller: my heart really bleeds for the former who owns a multimillion-dollar estate and is wary about his one cowboy that he employs. i think that is what is wrong with this system. it is greed. host: "the new york times" is reporting this morning possibly republicans considering extending tax cuts for middle class americans. "the new york times" is reporting this -- host: any fallback plan from republicans does not include a plan for the estate tax. guest: there is no easy solution to what is happening right now. the senate passed their tax bill over the summer. it was going to include an estate tax extension, as well. $3.5 million exemption. it was not put into the bill. the bill will do with a lot of things that are expiring but the estate tax will be left where was. that will be hanging out there. congress cannot let it hang out there for long. it shouldn't be at the level it was in 2001. it shows you how many things are hanging out there. even if fallback plan -- host: back to th